


Between the Dead and the Living

by geniewithwifi



Series: All At Once [14]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, Grim Reapers, Hurt/Comfort, Love at First Sight, Monsters, Not Really Character Death, Romance, Tombstones, Vigilante!Oliver, angel of death - Freeform, another fic where Genie is unpredictable, halloween fic, hood oliver, the afterlife, yeah those tend to happen a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8438419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geniewithwifi/pseuds/geniewithwifi
Summary: While wandering in a Haunted House, Felicity is saved by a dark figure. He tells her an unbelievable truth, one that takes the reveal of his identity for her to believe. AU.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Sara Barellis "Chasing the Sun"
> 
> The biggest thanks to my unfailing beta (who loves to comment her reactions which is my favorite thing) writewithurheart, as well as all my readers who read, comment, and/or leave kudos and bookmarks. THANK-YOU. 
> 
> Read, enjoy, leave a whole basket-full of comments and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Felicity couldn’t breathe.

She had been wandering the halls of this empty, decrepit house - mansion really - when from out of nowhere, this _thing_ appeared. She couldn’t quite make it out in the darkness, but the shape of it was impressive. It took up the entire hall. It could give t-rex a run for it’s money.

It hissed at her, the decibels increasing until the sound became a screech. A tug came from inside her chest, and her mouth popped open unexpectedly. A bright white ball that spun and glowed drifted between them, like when Ursula stole Ariel’s voice from her. And she should really stop thinking about disney movies at a time like this.

Suddenly, a figure to her right jumped through the window, cascading glass shards around her. The human-like shape snagged the glowy thingy from mid-air, causing the screeching to abruptly shut off. A gloved hand slapped the ball into her sternum, hard enough for the wind to be knocked out. A pull in her gut happened simultaneously, accepting of the bright light thing that had come from _her._

“Run.”

He grabbed her hand and took off down the hallway. She had no choice but to follow him. Down the halls, a left and a right, another right, through a sitting room -- was that a grand piano?-- through to the otherside. The moonlight from the window illuminated his image and she recognized it from the news.

The Vigilante.

She could see the quiver on his back, full of fletched arrows. His suit was green, at least she assumed it was a he, seeing that he was waaay taller than her, and quite bulky. But hey, if it was a girl all the more power to her.

They came to a staircase, but that’s where the trouble was. Stairs had never been her friends, two left feet and all that jazz, but add old, shoddy stairs and it’s a recipe for disaster. One of the steps gave way, and her leg sunk through it. Her other knee crashed down, but the other step thankfully held her weight. A glove shot out and took a hold of her wrist.

“We have to keep moving.” He said, and she could hear the tension in his voice. The fear, hinted with a bit of panic. Whatever that beast was it had him worried.

The Hood tugged her up, as though she was fairly light, but the motion jostled her more. She couldn’t help but scream. Looking down, she saw a large splinter (more like log) jutting out from her thigh. Blood poured from around it.

With a muttered curse that sounded Slavic, he picked her up across his back, legs held in one arm, her hand in another, in a fireman’s carry. He took off running, the motion that made her leg ache more, but she understood that now wasn’t a good time to complain. It was either this or be eaten by the soul monster thing.

Felicity must have blacked out, because the next thing she knew was they were in a graveyard; her back cold against engraved granite. The vigilante was bent over her leg, wrapping what were strips of.. Denim? He must have cut off her pant leg and then fashioned a bandage from the resulting fabric. The bloody stake rested next to her hand.

The sight of her own blood had her heaving over to the side, her stomach revolting. A hand held back her hair, smoothing it away from her face. Felicity coughed when she was done, running her sleeve over her mouth to wipe away the excess.

The man didn’t say anything, dark and somber, just gazing at her. Would it hurt him to say something nice or comforting? Probably.

She sighed. “At least we didn’t die.” She deadpanned, hoping a little gallows humor might strike a reaction out of him.

Which it did. Just not one she was expecting.

“I hate to say this, Felicity--” _Wait! How did he know her name?_ ”-- but you’re already dead.”

* * *

Oliver has seen a lot of dead people. Some of them cry, some wail. A few are just struck dumb when he tells them the news. Some have even hit him, pounding on him with their fists. He swore he’d seen it all.

He was wrong.

Felicity didn’t react like any of the others. Denial was common, yes. But this was a whole new level.

“What do you mean I’m dead!? What did you save me for then huh? If I’m already dead, why did you rescue me from that monster and why does my leg hurt like a mother-- ow!” She grit her teeth as a fresh wave of pain hit her. She had moved her leg in her tirade, jostling the wound.

Oliver started on the patented speech he had been required to learn at the beginning of his training. The same speech he had been greeted with after the Queen’s Gambit.

“Welcome to the Passing Realm, the next stop after death. All souls must be accompanied by a guide to help them through all the dangers--”

“Oh shut up will you? I’m not _dead._ And neither are you. Plus, if I was, why the hell did I know about the Vigilante in Life? Or are you a figment of my imagination? Yep, that’s it. I’ve had so many wet dreams about the vigilante that my subconscious decided that it would be imperative to have it guide me through, what was it? Certain death? Wonderful. Just great.”

Felicity let her head fall back on the tombstone. Oliver suppressed a sigh of frustration. Other souls hadn’t been as stubborn. In fact, they believed him once he had given his speech. Every single one of them, but not her. This was going to be difficult, since he had to convince her she really _was_ dead. He could only think of one way to do that.

“Felicity Meghan Smoak, born July 24th, 1989. Daughter of Noah Kuttler and Donna Smoak. Graduated MIT after creating a virus that got your boyfriend arrested. Worked in IT at Queen Consolidated until a car crash killed you. Died on impact.”

She squinted at him. Apparently that hadn’t worked. “That’s all correct, except… I don’t remember a car crash. Oh and I’m not dead. I’m just sitting in a graveyard with the Starling City Vigilante on Halloween night after being chased by a _monster_ and having a spear stuck through my leg! You didn’t mention that.”

“I thought that much was obvious.” He muttered, shaking his head. It had come to this, but he had no other choice. The first rule above all the rules was to convince the soul that they were dead. The next one was “don’t reveal your identity. Ever.” Considering that it was the second rule, and Oliver had exhausted all other means he could think of, this was the only decision left.

In the five years he had been doing this, being tested over and over again, never had this option come up. It was forbidden, he knew, but Felicity seemed like a special case. Even when shown hard proof -- the soul monster for one-- she refused to believe.

He raised his hands to his hood, and tugged it off.

He met her gaze head on, waiting for recognition to spike. And it hit fast.

“Oh my god, you’re Oliver Queen.”

* * *

OMG OMG OMG OLIVER QUEEN!

Felicity couldn’t believe. She couldn’t. But she _had to._ The sinking of the Gambit had been national news, so much that in college, it was all her roommates could talk about.

Five years ago, Robert Queen and Oliver Queen had died when the Queen’s Gambit had been caught in a storm and sunk. The ship had been salvaged and among the wreckage, both bodies had been found. DNA tests had been run from the surviving family and it had been confirmed.

They had been buried on the Queen’s property.

However, there was no denying the face in front of her. Gone was the floppy hair and carefree eyes; in it’s place was blues of steel and cold, hair cut short enough to be a brown, but long enough to spike in every direction. Instead of the fresh shaven boyish look, a three day shadow covered his jaw and neck.

Besides that, the facial structure was the same, the high cheekbones, clear cut jaw. Even the small mole at the corner of his lip hadn’t changed. (And she won’t admit it, but she knew all this because she had maybe stared at his face for several months since he was kinda cute)

But the fact remained that Oliver Queen was dead. Deader than zombies or vampires or the classic doornail.

“Are you convinced yet? You’re dead.”

“Hold on.” She raised a finger, fixing him with a look. “Answer me this one question. If I am satisfied with your answer, I will believe you. Only on that condition.”

Oliver nodded once, then gestured for her to go ahead.

“If you’re dead, then why does the city know about you. This was even before my so-called car crash. You’re the vigilante, the one that the cops are chasing. But you’re a ghost. How is this possible?” She poked him to prove her point. He was solid. But then again, so was she.

Oliver pointed behind her. When she just stared at him in confusion, he sighed and motioned again. She turned and looked at the tombstone she was leaning against. Then scuttled away, before the agony from her leg made her stop.

Upon the stone was engraved the words _Oliver Jonas Queen, b 1985, d 2007. Loving son and brother._

“Holy shit.” She was sitting on top of Oliver’s grave. How messed up was that?

He placed his hand on her knee, carefully avoiding the makeshift bandage. “To answer your question, yes, I am very dead. The proof is right there. I’m what they call a Reaper.”

“A reaper? Like with a scythe?”

“No.” He bit out,“If you had let me finish my welcoming speech, you would know this.”

“Sorry.” She looked contrite. “But in my defense, I woke up in a haunted house with a scary thing breathing down on me.”

“A Soul Eater. He wants to consume your life force.”

Her eyes lit up. “So that’s what the ball of light was!”

He smiled indulgently. “Yes. Anyways, we have to keep moving. That’s not the only thing here that’s dangerous.”

“Are you?”

He looked at her, square and unflinching. She gave it her all, straightening her spine. She wouldn’t let him intimidate her.

“I’m the most dangerous thing here. Remember that.” 

He stood up, then grasped both of her hands. “Do you think that you can stand? We still have a ways to go.”

Felicity didn’t want to, knowing the aching pain that would come if she did, but she had to try. Clenching her jaw, she nodded and Oliver pulled her swiftly to her feet.

Oddly, there was only a minor discomfort. “Your soul heals quickly.” he explained, sensing her wonderment, “Especially with no body to weigh it down.”

He set off into the surrounding forest. Only too grateful to leave the tombstones behind, she followed him, limping.

* * *

Something was wrong. They had been in the Passing Realm too long. Normally it only took an hour, maybe a little longer to find their final destination. Heaven, hell, purgatory, Asgard, Burotu, Salvation. There were many degrees of afterlife, depending on the individual’s belief and their acts during their life. Oliver never was privy to which door appeared. It wasn’t his responsibility. He was just supposed to keep them safe, not be their judge.

For five years he had struggled with this role. Yao Fei had been his Reaper, guiding him through the island, looking for the door to the next life. Oliver never saw his door. Instead, a bow and arrow appeared in a clearing, with his name clearly filigreed on the handle.  That’s when Yao Fei explained that he was to be a Reaper.

A guide through to the afterlife.

His first mission, one that was supposed to be easy, he had failed. Oliver had been charged to escort a young woman, by the name of Shado, to her final resting place. However, he had seduced her instead, and when they were finished, she faded away. Her door had opened and closed and her soul couldn’t move on. So it withered and died. All because of him.

Realizing that he still had the carnal desires he had in life, he fought to control them. His emotions had no place in this job. The guiding of souls.

At least that’s what he thought his task was. Yao Fei came to him, shaking his head, telling him that they all made mistakes once in awhile and that Oliver couldn’t let it happen again.

_‘You must get the soul to the door before it closes. And protect it from everything else. Including yourself.’_

Then Yao Fei told him the second part. The other side of his duties. The killing part. Not only was he supposed to escort souls, he was to eliminate those Fate decided to terminate. Evil men and women who hurt others.

That’s what the bow was for. To defend as well as to destroy.

Fate sent him all over the world, following a list in a book she had given him. When he was tasked to kill a human, he was visible since he was no longer in the Passing Realm. He was tangible. The way Yao Fei explained it was he was an angel of death. Once alive, now dead, but still alive.

“Wait, so like a Zombie?”

Oliver turned his head. He forgot that he had been telling his story out loud. She had asked about how he had died and become a reaper. He had obliged, not being able to deny her anything.

“No, Angel like. I was given a second life. I died but then was brought back.”

“That’s starting to make sense.”

Oliver whirled around. “ _Where is it!”_ He stalked from one boulder to another, dragging a halting Felicity behind him. He could hear the monsters creeping closer. The door must be close. It hadn’t opened and shut because Felicity was still with him.

Thank goodness.

For some reason the thought of Felicity fading hurt. More than Shado. He had gotten to know her in the past three hours they had been wandering, her chatting away, asking him questions. In such a short time, he’d become protective, not wanting _anything_ to happen to her. And it was more than duty. It was something he’d dare not name.

He knew what it was, this emotion that made him cling tighter to her. In the Passing Realm there were only souls. No words, bodies or physical barriers of anytime. It heightened everything, most of all love. When you stare into the soul of someone, such things are very quick to develop. Like healing. Her leg was practically healed. A wound like that in Life would’ve taken weeks if not months.

“Where’s what?”

“Your door.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “The place you go after this. You’re in transit from Life to your Afterlife. It should’ve appeared by now.”

“But I don’t believe in the afterlife.”

“You don’t--” _What?_

“Never have.” She didn’t believe. No wonder a door was reluctant to come. If she didn’t believe in it…

“That’s why you didn’t believe that you were dead.”

She shook her head and plopped down on the ground. “Nope. I mean I used to, a long time ago, but things change. I had someone close to me die, and well, he’s dead. No coming back. What’s the point of an afterlife if you never see them again?

“It’s why I wasn’t surprised to be in a haunted house. I had been dared by a co-worker to spend a night in one. I had told him I didn’t believe in ghosts because, well, no afterlife. So i was on my way to find a spooky house. That’s must be when the car crash happened.”

 Oliver looked up, hearing a quiet _snip._ A door appeared, a solid brown. It had a brass knocker, and as Oliver stared, it swung open a crack.

“Felicity...”

She looked up, but at him, not to where he was glaring. “Yeah?”

He pointed, a frown twisting his mouth. “Your door’s here.”

Finally she looked at her door. “Oh.”

And now that that blasted door was here, he didn’t want her to leave.

Felicity stood up, brushing off her pants. “Well, I guess this is it.” She smiled, heading towards him. She lifted to her tippy toes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then blushed, ducking her head, and started towards her door.

Oh hell no was she leaving like that. He snagged her hand, threading his fingers through her. Her beautiful eyes met his, hers startled but he didn’t care. Oliver tugged her back to him, having her collide with his chest, and he captured her mouth.

Her warm lips pressed against his, moving slowly, languidly. His tongue peeked out, testing against her lips. Felicity responded, her arms coming up around his neck. His hands tightened around her waist.

Suddenly, he realized what he was doing and shoved her backwards. “Go.” He was ashamed of the way his voice cracked. A wetness sliding down his cheek made him aware he was crying. “I want you to stay so bad but I can’t see you fade away. Especially if it was because of me.”

Felicity only gazed at him, running her hand over his jaw. Then, she pulled him towards her door.

“Come with me.”

“I can’t. I don’t know what would happen. Reapers aren’t supposed to leave.”

Then words he never thought he would say came from his traitorous mouth. “Stay.”

“Oliver. You know it isn’t worth it. If I stay, you’ll still have to say goodbye. I’ll wither away right in front of you And think of the pain you would feel. It would be ten times worse than if I leave now.”

“Please. I love you.” The second he said it he wished he could take it back. There was no place for love in the Passing Realm. Especially him, a reaper.

“Oh, Oliver.” She bit her lip, one hand on her door, the other still encased in his fist. She glanced at the door, hesitating, before turning back to him.

“And I love you.”

She removed her hand from his. Oliver couldn’t watch her leave. He had fallen in love with her soul, and she loved him back, and while he wanted to her to stay, wanted to go with her, wanted to bask in her presence always because she was light and he was dark, it was forbidden.

To stay would be her undoing.

He heard the door slam and that was it.

She was gone.

Gone from this world into the next. Where all souls go. Where she belonged. Felicity deserved an afterlife, not the nothingness that would result if she stayed in the Passing Realm past her time. He didn’t deserve her at all. Never would.

He let two more tears slip past the eyelid gates before he straightened, pulling out a device from inside his pocket. The next soul to be reaped.

Oliver memorized their location, their names and everything he needed to know about the soul, and picked up his bow.  

He strode out of the clearing, determined to shove away his emotions once again, when he heard it.

A footstep.

Several footsteps heading toward him.

Then…

“Oliver.”

She was standing in front of him. Solid. Whole. Not flickering or fading. Complete.

Felicity.

The door he heard closing wasn’t her going away. It was her deciding to stay.

 

-30-

 

**Author's Note:**

> Since I doubt I will ever add to this universe, I'll explain a little about the end. Felicity chose to stay. She opened her door, and then decided she didn't want it. Therefore because it was her choice, she didn't fade away. Felicity isn't a reaper like Oliver, but she lives in the Passing Realm with him. He holes her up in his safe house while he's out hunting criminals. 
> 
> The Passing Realm is unique to each Reaper. Therefore all his souls wake up in somewhere familiar to Oliver. Felicity woke up in the Queen Mansion, and then moved to the surrounding grounds. Another part of his Passing Realm is the Glades, which includes his father's factory (his safe house). Yao Fei was the closest reaper when Oliver drowned, and Yao Fei was on the island for such a long time, that's where the Passing Realm was. 
> 
> \--------
> 
>  **TRICK OR TREAT!  
> **  
>  Either **TRICK: tell me what was your favorite part of the story**  
>  or **TREAT: what is your favorite candy (chocolate included because I don't consider chocolate candy it's _chocolate_ ) and why? **
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr or Twitter: @geniewithwifi


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